Financial Services Professional & Financial Literacy Advocate

From infancy to his teenage years, Ishmael’s family (Mom & siblings) grew-up very poor, living nearly totally dependent on public assistance. During those years, he often wondered why they had little to no money. There are many families that wonder the same thing. It was in his early 30’s, leading to military retirement, that the questions he pondered would begin to get answers. It was around this time that he began pursuing a career in financial planning and learning about personal finance. In his first marriage, Ishmael faced extreme and dire circumstances with handling money well. Along with divorce, he lost the relationship with his children and his home. In his military service and employment with the federal government, he had great opportunity to speak with co-workers about the personal financial challenges they faced and gave the best solution he could. These were his first-hand experiences on the consequences caused by a lack of financial education. Serving as a volunteer financial educator with the United Way of Northeast Florida, Ishmael had opportunity to facilitate classes on personal finance and money management. In 2014, he received the Volunteer Financial Educator of the Year Award. In this experience, he learned that the ability to handle money well is not exempt from any occupation, race, level of income, age, religious belief, ethnicity, or any human circumstance. Financial education is needed by everyone! Following his service with the United Way, Ishmael earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Financial Planning and holds the 0215 Florida Resident Insurance License. He bounced around from one financial sales organization to another. Currently, he is with ValuTeachers, an organization that is passionate on sales through retirement education. Financial education prior to retirement is just as vital as financial education to prepare for retirement. Upon learning about the National Financial Educators Council and the work they are doing to advance and promote financial education, Ishmael immediately enrolled and quickly completed the Certified Financial Education Instructor certification. Ishmael is passionate about advancing financial education for every individual, household, and business for them to live better, make better financial decisions, and promote the welfare of others.